Windows 11

Windows 11
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Since its debut in 2021, Windows 11 has grown both in market share and in functionality. The dominant desktop operating system for PCs now has built-in AI, along with a host of powerful features.

Below, we help you make the most of Windows 11 with helpful tutorials, breaking news and in-depth analysis.

Don't Add Microsoft Account
How to Install and Log In to Windows 11 Without a Microsoft Account By default, Windows 11 requires you to have or create an account.
Old laptops
Linux or Landfill? End of Windows 10 Leaves PC Charities with Tough Choice Non-profits that refurbish PCs and give them to the needy have a dilemma when it comes to Windows 11-ineligible computers. Should they give clients an insecure Windows 10 OS, turn to Linux or throw perfectly-good computers away?
Windows 11
How to get windows 11 for free (or less than $15) Need an OS for your PC build? Microsoft charges a whopping $139 for Windows 11 Home. Here's how to get Windows free or at least cheap.

Latest about Windows 11

CPUs laying out.

CPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy 2026: CPU Rankings

By Jake Roach Last updated

All of today's desktop CPU benchmarks compared, including Intel's 13th-Gen Core series and AMD's Ryzen Zen 4 and Threadripper.

CPUs

Microsoft Paint and Photos apps add invisible watermark to AI-generated content

By Mark Tyson Published

A developer has uncovered some previously unknown GUID watermarking functionality deep within Microsoft’s Paint and Photos apps.

Artificial Intelligence
A closeup of a PC build with lots of RGB lighting in an In Win PC case, this is an example of the kind of PC build you could put together if you're out of the budget realm.

Microsoft blames RGB peripherals for crashing Windows 11

By Hassam Nasir Published

The software interferes with core system files.

Windows

Devs blame Windows for VLC media player bug that causes 33-second delay when playing MP3 files

By Kunal Khullar Published

VLC developers say a Windows 11 issue involving Microsoft Defender can interfere with the media player's plugin cache and cause unusually long playback delays.

Windows
Windows 11's weather app

Windows 11's built-in weather app, which is a web wrapper, hogs more than 1GB of RAM while idling

By Hassam Nasir Published

5x more memory consumption than macOS.

Windows

x64 port of Microsoft Word for Windows 1.1a arrives

By Mark Tyson Published

A developer has ported 1990's Microsoft Word for Windows 1.1a to x64 so it can run natively on Windows 11 PC systems.

Microsoft Office
Best Laptops

Best Laptops 2026: Our benchmarked picks for productivity, portability, and battery life

By Andrew E. Freedman Last updated

We test dozens of laptops a year for their performance, screen quality, and battery life, to find the best laptops right now across Windows, macOS, Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm notebooks.

Laptops
Windows 11 on a laptop

Microsoft vows to make Windows 11 fly on 8GB RAM amid memory shortage

By Jowi Morales Published

Windows 11 is about to go on a diet

Windows
a Steam Deck with Windows 11 on its screen

Valve releases drivers, notes to make Windows work on Steam hardware, but refuses to support it

By Jowi Morales Published

Why tho

Console Gaming

RAM crisis provokes enthusiast to try Windows 11 on DDR1-era hardware

By Mark Tyson Published

Enthusiast demos Microsoft’s newest OS running 'completely stable' on a Core 2 Quad Q6600, using a DDR1 motherboard, supported by an ATi Radeon HD 4650 AGP graphics card.

Windows
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